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\u201cWe simply can\u2019t turn our back on the people of Sudan when they need us most<\/strong>,\u201d Director General of the UN migration agency (IOM) Amy Pope\u00a0said on Monday. The entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks if we don’t act now.”<\/p>\n Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal civil conflict since 2023 between rival militaries and their backers. Some 8.6 million people remain internally displaced<\/strong> and 19.5 million people currently face crisis levels of food insecurity, which has been compounded by maritime disruptions and drought caused by the El Ni\u00f1o weather pattern.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters on Monday following an eight-day trip to Sudan, WFP Acting Director Carl Skau said the crisis in Sudan \u201cby far does not get the attention it deserves.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n He added that WFP has the presence and capacity to deliver an effective humanitarian response but is mostly constrained by funding.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is possible to make a difference,\u201d he said. \u201cOur main problem is funding<\/strong>. There is a risk we will have to scale back quite significantly in the next few weeks unless more funding is provided.\u201d<\/p>\n The Common Humanitarian Pipeline system \u2013 managed by IOM and allowing more than 100 partners to provide aid \u2013 has reached 2.84 million people since July 2023. But its reach has shrunk each year due to falling donations<\/strong> as other crises dominate global attention.<\/p>\n IOM warned that current shelter, sanitation and emergency household relief items will run out by the end of September<\/strong>, while warehouses will close without additional funding by December.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, WFP reaches 4 to 5 million people in Sudan each month with humanitarian aid, including agricultural support and cash and food assistance.<\/p>\n Amid access challenges by road, Mr. Skau said WFP recently expanded its humanitarian aid service in Sudan. With additional humanitarian funding, the UN and its partners could expand the air service and reach more civilians in need.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to step up,\u201d Mr. Skau said. \u201cWe cannot continue to fail these people<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Well into its fourth year, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to endanger civilians and drive people from their homes, according to the UN\u2019s aid office (OCHA).<\/p>\n Over the weekend, drone strikes displaced thousands across the states of Blue Nile, North Darfur and West Darfur. Local sources reported civilian casualties.<\/p>\n In North Kordofan, El Obeid has acted as a haven for people fleeing violence elsewhere in the country. But\u00a0the RSF has surrounded the city, and camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) are stretched beyond their capacities, putting increasing pressure on essential services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe once again call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access<\/strong> to all those in need across Sudan,\u201d OCHA said.<\/p>\n On a recent eight-day trip to Sudan, Mr. Skau visited communities and local displacement camps in El Obeid, El Fasher, Khartoum and other areas.<\/p>\n He\u00a0told reporters that he spoke with women who had to return home without water after a tank ran out and people who walked up to five days to reach IDP camps after their villages were destroyed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In the North Darfur town of Tawila, Mr. Skau said he saw hundreds of thousands who had fled violence in El Fasher living in \u201can endless ocean of grass huts.\u201d WFP has reached nearly the entire population with assistance but is only able to provide half rations.<\/p>\n It took Mr. Skau three days to travel by car from El Obeid to El Fasher \u2013 a journey which he said used to take six hours.<\/p>\n Upon his arrival in El Fasher, Mr. Skau found a \u201cdaunting city\u201d hollowed out by the RSF\u2019s brutal 18-month siege on the city, which ended in late October.<\/p>\nAid reaching millions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Thousands displaced<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Skau: \u2018Urgent\u2019 to end the war<\/strong><\/h2>\n